Yes, and many savvy recruiters would make you make the calculated risk anyway. Note that at that stage, the recruiters are highly incentivized to say or allude to "we can beat everyone/are competitive" without saying a number and make you interview with the company at the beginning of the process (with various excuses, including not having the authority to talk about actual numbers and that decision being prorogued to a distinct person/team, but rest assured that we beat others according to your interview performance) and you later learn their guesstimate was far off.
The solution to this is easy: don't bother with that uncooperative recruiter. Remember, we're talking about trying to jump from one high paying job to a higher paying job here, so why bother with uncooperative recruiters? They need you much worse than you need them.
I agree. Following that recipe, you decide on ending the phone call with a nice, but uncooperative about blurting out a number recruiter who claims they can be competitive.
Now the question is this: if you are willing to blow off the whole process anyway on that call, why not at least try giving them a number and give them a chance and see if they would beat it?
> why not at least try giving them a number and give them a chance and see if they would beat it?
If it's obvious that the recruiter is uncooperative or that the role isn't prestigious/top-tier, this is exactly what one should do.
The reaction to blowout numbers may just surprise you, and perhaps not for the better..
In my life I've been more upset by a lack of resistance in negotiations (of any kind) than immediate supplication, because it invariably means: "I could've done better, my appraisal was wrong"
Sure, if you want to interview for the position so badly, name some arbitrary high number. But Patrick's original point is that you should never disclose your current salary or the number you're truly willing to settle for, since it sets a premature upper ceiling on what you could end up making.
Again we must discern between "internal recruiters" and recruiting agencies.
Reputable third-party recruiting agencies will not play this game:
- They know their clients.
- They know how prior placements have been compensated.
- They only get paid if you get placed.
- They have 10 other companies they might be able place you at with higher likelihood.
"Internal recruiters" should be seen as any other adversarial negotiator: hopefully in a weaker position.
"I've got 3 other offers on the table right now, my time is extremely limited. I am sure you can understand: I cannot afford to waste time on unsuitable roles. What is the top-end of your range for this position?"
And really, you need to know what you are worth, or this number is meaningless. Once they've dropped the top-end of the range, you can give an ultimatum: "Match and exceed companies A, B, C." or "I would be willing to take a risk and go down this interview track, but understand from the onset: your top-end is at least $xx,xxx lower than I would consider. Furthermore, I do not wish to be the most well-compensated employee on my team, which might detract from my desire to proceed."
